A trip to 8-Bit Aleworks is a deliberate trip. Nestled in a business park a few hundred feet east of the shores of the Aqua Fria "River" in Avondale this is not a brewery that you happen to just come across. And that’s just fine by owners Ryan and Krystina Whitten. In fact at one point they even changed their name from 8-Bit Brewery to 8-Bit Aleworks to eliminate any possible confusion with what they do: make fantastic beer. You want food? Great! Bring in whatever you want. I'm sure that they'll have a beer that pairs beautifully with what you are eating. Even if its not a perfect pairing I guarantee you that its still going to be a tasty beer.

With 8-Bit Aleworks you get an amazing craft beer experience surrounded by images and sounds from the glory days of video games. The main wall in the tap house is a large depiction of one of the most memorable images of many of our childhoods: the game level on Super Mario Bros. including a man-eating plant and hammer-throwing turtle. I got a flight to try all the beers and the flight holder was actually a green plastic tube in homage to the Super Mario Bros. games. Great touch!

You can even play some of these games via a choice of a couple of arcade games or console games. In the background you hear...wait, is that Metallica? In the style of classic Nintendo music? Yes it is! A subtle yet amazing detail. These guys even got a write-up in Game Informer magazine!